Russia’s war of aggression extends beyond Ukraine. For example, he ensures that the number of poor children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia increases dramatically. Around four million of them are now classified as poor, an increase of almost 20 percent.
According to a study by the UN children’s fund UNICEF, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the associated economic downturn have driven four million children in Eastern Europe and Central Asia into poverty. That corresponds to an increase of 19 percent since 2021, according to a study. Children bear the greatest burden of the economic crisis caused by the Ukraine war.
The study includes data from 22 countries in the region. The effects of war are particularly strong for children in Russia and Ukraine. According to the study, an additional 2.8 million children live in households below the poverty line in Russia. In Ukraine, half a million additional children lived in poverty, then Romania followed with an additional 110,000 children.
The sharp increase in child poverty could also mean that another 4,500 children die before their first birthday, it said. This year alone, an additional 117,000 children could drop out of school because of poverty.
The poorer a family, the greater the proportion of its income that is spent on basic necessities such as food and fuel, the study said. If the cost of these goods rose sharply, there would be less money left for other needs like health care and education. For many, childhood poverty is a lifelong experience. One in three children born and raised in poverty will also live in poverty as an adult. This leads to an intergenerational cycle of poverty and disadvantage.
UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Afshan Khan said children across the region were being swept up in the terrible aftermath of the war. “If we don’t support these children and families now, the steep rise in child poverty will almost certainly lead to lost lives, lost learning and lost futures.”
